[Visualization analysis of relevant literature on occupational health risk assessment from 2010 to 2019].

Objective: To understand the research status of occupational health risk assessment in recent ten years. Methods: In April 2020, the literatures related to occupational health risk assessment published by CNKI and Web of Science core collection (WoSCC) databases from 2010 to 2019 were searched, and Excel 2016 software was used to organize the literature, CiteSpace 5.6.R2 software was used for visual analysis. Results: A total of 58 Chinese literatures and 407 English literatures were included. The authors of the high frequency posts were Zhang Meibian, and Alessandro Marinaccio, and the publishing institutions were mainly the National Institute for Occupational Health and Poison Control of Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention and Finnish Institute Occupational Health. The Chinese journal with the most articles was Chinese Journal of Industrial Hygiene and Occupational Diseases, and the English journal was Safety Science. Chinese high-frequency keywords mainly included risk assessment, occupational health, occupational exposure. English high-frequency keywords mainly included occupational health, risk, risk factor. The prominent words in Chinese literature were occupational health, coal dust, occupational hazards, occupational health and occupational disease hazards; Risk assessment, worker, exposure, heart disease, cardiovascular disease and so on were prominent words in English literature. Conclusion: The main research keywords in the field of occupational health risk assessment at home and abroad focus on occupational health and risk assessment, but the research direction and focus are slightly different.

Health information needs of 1000 midlife Singaporean women.

OBJECTIVES: Due to demographic changes, aging is a health priority. We aimed to identify midlife women's perceived health information needs and the preferred method(s) of information delivery. METHODS: A questionnaire was offered to women, aged 45-69 years, attending gynecological clinics during April/May 2016, collecting age and ethnicity data. Participants were asked to indicate important midlife health topics out of 26 topics, including 'other'. For each topic, six delivery options were offered. Age was stratified by 5-year intervals. Associations with age and ethnicity were examined using Pearson's chi-square tests (p < 0.05); analyses were performed with SPSS version 22.0. RESULTS: The top health topics chosen were gynecological cancer (66.0%), joint/muscle aches and pain (64.4%), bone health (63.2%), breast screening (55.9%), and heart health (55.3%). Adjusted results from the logistic regression model found that the odds of choosing the topics gynecological cancer, cervical screening, and complementary and alternative medicine for menopausal symptoms were significantly lower in age groups 55-59, 60-64 and 65-69 years compared to age group 45-49 years. Both Malay and Indian women were less likely to report bone health as important (odds ratio = 0.59, 95% confidence interval = 0.41-0.86) and (odds ratio = 0.64, 95% confidence interval = 0.42-0.98), respectively. Written leaflets were chosen by the majority (84.7%). CONCLUSION: This study of over 1000 midlife Asian women found that holistic health information is desired and requires tailoring by age, not ethnicity. Written information was preferred over support groups. These findings will guide clinical health services in delivering patient-centered information resources for midlife women.

Evaluation of antibacterial use in outpatients of township and community primary medical institutions in a district of Sichuan Province, China.

OBJECTIVES: Antibacterial use in township health centres (THCs) and community health service centres (CHSCs) in a district of Sichuan Province, China, was investigated. By analysis of the common irrational use of antibacterials in such primary medical institutions, the purpose of promoting rational use of antibacterials can be achieved. METHODS: Outpatient prescriptions were randomly selected from 12 THCs and 5 CHSCs in a district of Sichuan Province from July-September 2015 and antibacterial use in these outpatient prescriptions was investigated. RESULTS: The average usage rate of antibacterials in outpatient prescriptions of THCs and CHSCs was 61.05% and 35.07%, respectively, and the average proportion of rational antibacterials in prescriptions was 59.88% and 77.07%, respectively. In THCs, there was an extremely significant difference between centre A and centre N, especially for two antibacterial indicators (irrational antibacterials and irrational drug frequency). There was also an extremely significant difference between centre P and centre T, especially for the same two abovementioned indicators. These results were evaluated in relation to the implementation of quality control management of rational drug use. CONCLUSION: There are many irrational problems in antibacterial use in outpatient prescriptions of THCs and CHSCs in China. Therefore, it is necessary to strengthen the training and management of antibacterial use at primary medical institutions, and grassroots pharmacists should also play an active role in antibacterial drug management.

[Clinical application of the Chinese version of Cornell assessment of pediatric delirium: a pilot study].

Objective: To evaluate the clinical application of Chinese version of Cornell assessment of pediatric delirium (CAPD) scale in children by a pilot study. Methods: A prospective observational study. From June 2017 to December 2017, the original CAPD screen was translated into Chinese and debugged cross-culturally according to the guidelines, which was further applied in the Department of Critical Care Medicine, Children's Hospital of Chongqing Medical University. The clinical data of 250 patients who were evaluated with the Chinese version of CAPD scale and Richmond agitation-sedation scale were extracted and analyzed with chi-square test or Mann-Whitney U test. Cronbach's α coefficient,Split-half coefficient and intra-group correlation coefficient were used to evaluate the reliability, while exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) were used to evaluate the structural validity of the scale. The result was compared with the gold standard diagnostic results to evaluate the diagnostic efficacy of the CAPD. Results: Sixty-one (24.4%) patients had delirium during pediatric intensive care unit hospitalization,and significant differences existed between them and 189 patients without delirium in age (χ(2)=11.220, P=0.011), rates of mechanical ventilation (χ(2)=6.691, P=0.010) and length of PICU hospitalization (Z=10.656, P=0.001). The Chinese version of the CAPD scale had high discrimination among the 8 items in the main table without skewed distribution and discrete items. The internal and external reliability of the scale were preferable as the Cronbach's α coefficient was 0.819 and ICC value was 0.835. The KMO value of EFA was 0.834 and Bartlett spherical test showed statistical significance (χ(2)=661.440, P<0.01). CFA constructed a two-factor structural equation model with favorable fit index:Chi-square/degree of freedom (DF) ratio was 1.786 (χ(2)=33.930, P=0.019), goodness of fit index (GFI) was 0.967,adjusted GFI was 0.938,root mean square of the approximate error (RMSEA) was 0.056. A good diagnostic efficacy of this scale was demonstrated by receiver operating characteristic curve analysis as when the cut-off was 10, the area under curve was 0.99 (95%CI: 0.97-0.99), sensitivity was 96.7% (95%CI: 88.7-99.6), specificity was 93.1% (95%CI: 88.5-96.3), positive likelihood ratio was 14.0 (95%CI: 13.2-14.9), and the negative likelihood ratio was 0.035 (95%CI: 0.008-0.200). Conclusion: The Chinese version of the CAPD Scale has favorable reliability,validity,diagnostic efficacy, as well as feasibility, which should be applied in evaluation of pediatric delirium in clinical observation and research in the future.

Dietary exposure assessment of cyadox based on tissue depletion of cyadox and its major metabolites in pigs, chickens, and carp.

The tissue kinetics of cyadox, an antibacterial agent used in food animals, and its major metabolites in pigs, chickens, and carp were investigated followed by a complete dietary exposure assessment to evaluate the food safety of cyadox. Cyadox and its major metabolites, bisdeoxycyadox (Cy1), 4-desoxycyadox (Cy2), N-(quinoxaline-2-methyl)-cyanide acetyl hydrazine (Cy4), quinoxaline-2-carboxylic acid (Cy6), and 2-hydromethyl-3-hydroxy-quinoxaline (Cy12), were simultaneously quantitated with a high-performance liquid chromatography-ultraviolet (HPLC-UV) method. Pigs, chickens, and carp were fed with 150 mg/kg cyadox in feed for consecutive 60, 40, and 30 days, respectively. The residue amount of cyadox and its major metabolites in liver, kidney, muscle, and fat (skin) tissues was determined. Cy2 was below the limit of quantitation even at the withdrawal time of 6 hr, cyadox, Cy4, Cy6, and Cy12 could be detected at 6-24 hr with low level less than 50 µg/kg. By contrast, Cy1 persisted for 3 days in the kidney of pigs and chickens, and in the liver of carp. Based on these residue depletion data and previous toxicology results, the global estimated chronic dietary exposure assessment of cyadox for general population was conducted, indicating a zero withdrawal time (WDT) may be appropriate for cyadox in food animals when used in feed for prolonged administration. These results provide analytical techniques and safety standards suitable for residue monitoring of cyadox in food animals.

A physiologically based pharmacokinetic model for the prediction of the depletion of methyl-3-quinoxaline-2-carboxylic acid, the marker residue of olaquindox, in the edible tissues of pigs.

To estimate the consumer exposure to olaquindox (OLA) residues in porcine edible tissues, a physiologically based pharmacokinetic (PBPK) model for methyl-3-quinoxaline-2-carboxylic acid (MQCA), the marker residue of OLA, was developed in pigs based on the assumptions of the flow-limited distribution, hepatic metabolism, and renal excretion. The model included separate compartments corresponding to blood, muscle, liver, kidney, adipose, and an extra compartment representing the remaining carcass. Physiological parameters were determined from literatures. Plasma protein binding, partition coefficients, and renal clearance for MQCA were determined in in vitro and in vivo studies. The metabolic conversion of OLA to MQCA was assumed as a simple, one-step process, and an apparent first-order rate constant (k) was employed to describe this metabolic process. The PBPK model was optimized and validated with plasma and tissue data from literatures and our study. Sensitivity analysis and Monte Carlo simulation were also implemented to estimate the influence of model parameters on the goodness of fit. When compared with the observed data, the PBPK model underestimated the MQCA level in all compartments at the early time points, whereas gave excellent predictions of MQCA concentration in porcine edible tissues at later time points. The correlation coefficients between the predicted and observed values were over 0.88. The consistency between the model predictions and the real residues of OLA in pigs proved the good applicability of our model in food safety risk assessment.

Detoxification activity and energy cost is attenuated in whiteflies feeding on tomato yellow leaf curl China virus-infected tobacco plants.

The begomovirus Tomato yellow leaf curl China virus (TYLCCNV) can benefit its vector, the whitefly Bemisia tabaci, through suppressing the defences of their shared host plants. However, the mechanisms of this vector-virus mutualism remain largely unknown on the insect side of the interaction. Here, we compared the transcriptional profiles of female adult whiteflies of B. tabaci Middle East-Asia Minor 1 feeding on TYLCCNV-free and TYLCCNV-infected tobacco plants using the next-generation sequencing technique and quantitative real-time PCR. Interestingly, the genes involved in the oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS) pathway and detoxification enzyme were down-regulated in whiteflies feeding on virus-infected plants. Decreased detoxification activity costs less energy, which may reduce OXPHOS activity. Moreover, the genes involved in redox activity were also down-regulated, which may indicate that the reduced OXPHOS activity decreased reactive oxygen species production. Reduced detoxification activity is likely to attenuate energy costs, thereby enhancing the performance of whiteflies on virus-infected plants. These results provide further insight into the mechanisms of the plant-mediated whitefly-virus mutualism. Moreover, our study suggests that investigating the transcriptional profiles on the insect side of the interaction can advance our understanding of the tripartite interactions.

Characteristics of the new THOR epithermal neutron beam for BNCT.

A characterization of the new Tsing Hua open-pool reactor (THOR) epithermal neutron beam designed for boron neutron capture therapy (BNCT) has been performed. The facility is currently under construction and expected in completion in March 2004. The designed epithermal neutron flux for 1 MW power is 1.7x10(9)n cm(-2)s(-1) in air at the beam exit, accompanied by photon and fast neutron absorbed dose rates of 0.21 and 0.47 mGys(-1), respectively. With (10)B concentrations in normal tissue and tumor of 11.4 and 40 ppm, the calculated advantage depth dose rate to the modified Snyder head phantom is 0.53RBE-Gymin(-1) at the advantage depth of 85 mm, giving an advantage ratio of 4.8. The dose patterns determined by the NCTPlan treatment planning system using the new THOR beam for a patient treated in the Harvard-MIT clinical trial were compared with results of the MITR-II M67 beam. The present study confirms the suitability of the new THOR beam for possible BNCT clinical trials.

Dose-rate scaling factor estimation of THOR BNCT test beam.

In 1998, an epithermal neutron test beam was designed and constructed at the Tsing Hua Open-Pool Reactor (THOR) for the purpose of preliminary dosimetric experiments in boron neutron capture therapy (BNCT). A new epithermal neutron beam was designed at this facility, and is currently under construction, with clinical trials targeted in late 2004. Depth dose-rate distributions for the THOR BNCT test beam have been measured by means of activation foil and dual ion chamber techniques. Neutron and structure-induced gamma spectra measured at the test beam exit were configured into a source function for the Monte Carlo-based treatment planning code NCTPlan. Dose-rate scaling factors (DRSFs) were determined to normalize computationally derived dose-rate distributions with experimental measurements in corresponding mathematical and physical phantoms, and to thus enable accurate treatment planning using the NCTPlan code. A similar approach will be implemented in characterizing the new THOR epithermal beam in preparation for clinical studies. This paper reports the in-phantom calculated and experimental dosimetry comparisons and derived DRSFs obtained with the THOR test beam.

Nascent focal adhesions are responsible for the generation of strong propulsive forces in migrating fibroblasts.

Fibroblast migration involves complex mechanical interactions with the underlying substrate. Although tight substrate contact at focal adhesions has been studied for decades, the role of focal adhesions in force transduction remains unclear. To address this question, we have mapped traction stress generated by fibroblasts expressing green fluorescent protein (GFP)-zyxin. Surprisingly, the overall distribution of focal adhesions only partially resembles the distribution of traction stress. In addition, detailed analysis reveals that the faint, small adhesions near the leading edge transmit strong propulsive tractions, whereas large, bright, mature focal adhesions exert weaker forces. This inverse relationship is unique to the leading edge of motile cells, and is not observed in the trailing edge or in stationary cells. Furthermore, time-lapse analysis indicates that traction forces decrease soon after the appearance of focal adhesions, whereas the size and zyxin concentration increase. As focal adhesions mature, changes in structure, protein content, or phosphorylation may cause the focal adhesion to change its function from the transmission of strong propulsive forces, to a passive anchorage device for maintaining a spread cell morphology.

Pharmacological assessment of spantide II analogues.

We have studied the structure-activity relationship of a series of tachykinin receptor antagonists based on spantide II. Fifteen novel peptides were tested for their ability to antagonize the electrically evoked tachykinin receptor-mediated response in the isolated rabbit iris sphincter muscle. Substitution or deletion of one to three amino acids in the spantide II sequence caused significant changes in biological activity. Eight of the novel analogues were found to be as potent as or more potent than spantide II and some were found to have better water solubility. We tested the selectivity for different tachykinin receptors of spantide II and two of the eight most potent analogues. They all interacted with tachykinin NK1 (rabbit jugular vein) and tachykinin NK2 (rabbit pulmonary artery) receptors with pA2 values of about 6.5-7.5 at the NK1 receptor and of 5.9-7.2 at the NK2 receptor, while being inactive at the tachykinin NK3 receptor (rat portal vein). Spantide II and the novel analogues were without effect on electrically evoked cholinergic responses of the isolated rabbit iris sphincter and on electrically evoked sympathetic responses of the guinea-pig vas deferens; moreover, they were without local anaesthetic-like effects on action potentials of the frog sciatic nerve, which suggests that they do not produce a general neurosuppressive effect. They were as effective as or slightly less effective than spantide II in causing histamine release from rat peritoneal mast cells.